AUST~. TEXAS 

. 

April 8, 1950 

Hon. R. L. Whitehead 

Criminal District Attorney 

Longview, Texas 

Dear Mrir Whitehead: 

Your request 

opinion Ho. V-1041. 

Re: The applioabilltp to 

Gregg County of Article 21160, V0C.3., ralative to selection of 

juries, under the submitted facts. 

for au opinion is as follows: 

"At presents we are seleatlng oup juries 

under Art.2094, Q.C.8. We would like to select our juries under Art. 2116c, V.C.S. Sec. 

1 of ~rt~2116c, V.C.S. says that this Article 

applies only to such counties wherein two or 

more Distriot Courts are q alntalned. 

"The County of Gregg is composed of the 

124th Judicial District Court, and is overlapped~by the 71st Judicial District Court, 

both having jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. This would seem, In this writ* 

er's opinion, to qualify this county. 

"Under Sec.10 of Art- 2116c, V.C.S., It 

states,.thathis act shall be cumulatiye of 

and in addition to the methods now authorized by the General Laws for the selection of 

a jury panel in the counties named and that 

this Article is optional with and in the dFscretion of a majority of the Distriat and 

county Judges. 

"It is this writer's opLnion that a vote 

of the Judges favoring the method instigated 

in art. 21160, V.C.S., would make that method 

appllaablc to Gregg County. 

"After making diligent search I oan find 

no cases Pelative to Art. 2116c, V.C.S* and 
Hon. R. L. Whitehead, page 2 (Q-1041) 

we respeotfully request that yonr office 

render an opinion as to whether this oounty might select its jurymen under Art.21160, 

Q.C.S." 

Gregg County has a population of 58,027 inhabitants according to the last preceding Federal Censns. 

Artiole 2094, Q.C.S., was first enacted by the 

Legislature in 1907 and amended by the Aots of 1911. It 

was further amended by Ii. B. 163, Aots 4lst Leg., R. 9. 

1929, oh.43, p.89, to read as follows: 

"Artiole 2094. Between the first and 

fifteenth days of August of each year, in 

each county having a population of at least 

fifty-eight thousand or having therein a 

city containing a population of at least 

twenty thousand, as shown by the preoeding 

Federal Census, the Tax Colleotor or one of 

his deputies, together with the Tax Assessor or one of his deputies, together with 

the Sheriff or one of his deputies, and the 

County Clerk or one of his deputies, and 

the Distriot Clerk or one OS his deputies, 

shall meet at the aourt house of their countg and seleot from the llst of qualified 

jurors of such county as shown by the tax 

lists In'the Tax Assessor*8 office for the 

current year, the jurors for service in the 

District and County Courts of such county 

tar the ensuing year in the manner hereinafter provided.* 

Article 2116c, Q.C.S., 

Acts 44th Leg., 

passed in 1935 (B.B.IIl, 

2nd C.S. 1935, oh.&%, p.1744) Is also 

applioable to oounties in the State wherein two or more 

Distrlot Courts have been oreated and maintained or in 

which two or more Distriot Courts may hereafter bs oreeted and maintained. The pertinent portion of the Act 

reads as follows: 

"In each county under this law, the 

Judges of the District and Count Conrt 

shall meet together every two (2 3 months, 

or at suoh times as they may agree upon, 

and determine approximately the number of 

J-M that are reasonable and necessary 

for Jury service In all of the District and 

-. 
Eon. R. L. Whitehead; page 3 (Q-1041) 

qounty courts of _ _ 

such ~county, for each ,week 

dwlng a perloa of two (2) months, beginning 

ten (10) days after the date of such meeting, 

,OP POP as many weeks in advance as they deem 

proper. After agreeing upon the number of 

weeks and upon the number of Jurors neoessary 

for each of said weeks the presiding Judge 

shall appoint a Jury Commission in acoordanae 

with and under the provisions of the already 

existing @enera Laws ~governing the appointment of a Jury Commission, and with the same 

qualifications as are therein stated, who 

shall proaeed to select the number of Jurors 

for each of the weeks designated by the presiding Judge, said Jurors to be selected by 

said Jury Commission in the mode and manner, 

and with the same qualifioations, as is now 

fixed by existing Statute. The said Jury, 

so limited in number fop each of said weeks, 

after having been regularly selected by said 

Jury Commission, shall be served by the Sheriff, OP any other officer authorized under 

the law to serve Jurors, to appear and report for Jury service before the said presiding Judge, so designated, for the week for 

which it has been selected. Said Jury shall 

be known as the general panel of Jurors for 

servioe in all of the District and County 

Courts of such Connty, for the respeotlve 

weeks fop whioh they are designated to. serve. 

Said JLWOPS, after being summoned shall report for Jury service before the presiding 

Judge* shall organize said panel, hear the 

exouses of said Jurors and swear them in for 

service for the week they,have been selected, 

to try all cases that may be submitted to 

them in any of said Courts." 

Article 21160, Q.C.S., further provides that 

such act is cumulative of and in addition to the methods 

now authorized by general laws for the selection of a 

jury panel in the aountles herein named and the adoption 

of the method provided is, optional with and in the discretion of a majority of the District and County Judges 

l "Who" probably omitted. 
. 

Hon. R. L. Whitehead, page 4 (Q-1041) 

of any county coming under the provisions of the Aot. 

Article 2094, Q.C.S., 

36, Acts 51st Leg., R.S. 1949, 

was later amended by S.B. 

ch.467, p.868, and reads 

in part as follows: 

"Between the first and fifteenth days of 

August of eaoh year, in each county having 

a population of at least forty-six thousand 

(46,000), or having therein a oity oontaining 

a population of at least twenty thousand (20,- 

000), as shown by the last preceding Federal 

Census, and in each county having two or more 

District Courts holding sessions therein, regardless of population, the Tax Collector or 

one of his deputies, together with the Sheriff or one of his deputies, and the County 

Clerk or one of his deputies, and the Dlstriot Clerk or one of his deputies, shall 

meet at the court house of their county and 

seleot from the list of qualified jurors of 

suoh county as shown by the tax lists in the 

Tax Assessor's office for the current year, 

the jurors for servioe in the District and 

County Courts of suoh oountg for the ensuing 

year, in the manner hereinafter provided.* 

The 1949 amendment to Article 2094, contained 

the following emergency clause: 

"The fact that there are now some counties in Texas which do not have the populations provided in Article 2094, to require 

selections of jurors from a jury wheel, but 

have two or more District Courts, holding 

sessions therein, where, at present, each 

Dlstriot Judge has to appoint separate jury 

commissioners to select jurors for his particular court, and such prooeeding results 

in confusion and an unfair distribution of 

jury servvioe, and often in duplicationa in 

the separate jury lists for swh Courts, 

create an emergenoy . . .' 

In Popham v. Patterson, 121 Tex. 615, 51 S.W. 

2d 680 (1932), the Court said: 

"In construing statutes it is the duty 

of the court to asoertain the legislative 
Hon. R. L. Whitehead, page 5 (Q-1041) 

intent and, when swh intent is onoe arrived at, it should ba giveneffeot; in faot, 

swh intent is the law. In determining the 

legislative intent, the court should not look 

alone to any one phrase, olauae, or sentenoe 

of the Clot, but to the entire act; and this 

includes the caption, the body of the aot, 

and the emergenog olause. In this oonneotion 

we hold that, even when the emergenay olause 

cannot be given effect as such, still its protisions may be looked to if they aid the court 

in asoertaining the legislative intent. . . . 

“As to the question whether the sot of 

1931 repeals the act of 1930, we are of the 

opinion that it does. In this oonnection it 

will ba noted that the sot of 1931 is a later aot, and, in 80 far as prescribing the 

terms of offioe is concerned, it ahaolutelf 

conflicts with the 1930 rot. The former aot 

fixes the term of office at four years, while 

the latter act fixes suoh term at two years. 

The sot of 1931 does not mention that of 1930, 

but in so far as the term of office is oonoerned, the two aots are absolutely antagonistlo 

to each other. It follows that the letter sot 

repeals the former by implioation.* 

Also see: Parshall 8. State, 62 Tex. Grim. 177, 138 S.W. 

70 Tex. Grim. 307, 159 

z: Terrell, Southwestern 118 Gas Tex. and 463, Eleo- 1.6 

26 b75 (1946) ; A.G. 

Inasmuoh as Artiole 2094, as amended in 1949, 

is mandatory and la a later expresslou of the Legislature than Article 21160 and in view of the inoonslatency between Articles 2096 and 216, "it follovs that the 

latter Act repeals the former by implioation." This is 

supported by the emergewy olause in the 1949 amendment 

to Artiole 2094, evidencing an intention of the LegisIature for the method provided to be exclusive in selecting juries in the counties ooming within the p~ovisiorm 

of the Aot. 

Subsequent to the repeal of Artiole 2116~ by 

the amendment to Aptiol'e 2094 in 1949, Artiale 2094 was 

amended by H. B. 36, Acts 518% Leg., 1st C. S., 1950, 
Eon. R. L. Whiteheed, page 6 (Q-1041) 

effective Haroh 3, 1950. This amendment, ?whlch reenacted Article 2094 and added a provision excluding counties, 

with a population of less than 24,000:inhabitants and 

with two District Courts from,the provisions of the hat, 

has no effect on the oonclusiona reaohed herein.' 

Therefore, it is our opinion that 

siona of Artiole 2094 will prevail and will 

method of jury selection in Gregg County. 

SlEOdARY 

Artiole 2094, Q.C.S.; and Article 

Q.C.S., whioh provide a method o-f jury _ . 

the, provigovern the 

2116c, 

selection in Gregg County are ln oo~llot ano antagonistio to each other. Artiole.2094, being 

a later expression of the Legislature, ~111 

prevail over Artiole 2116c, and the method of 

seleotlon for juries in said county is by the 

system oommonly referred to as the "Jury Wheel 

Law." am v. Patterson, 121 Tex. 615, 51 

S.W.2d (1932); Parshall v. State, 62 Tex. 

Grin. 177, 138 S.W. 759 (1911); Robertson v. 

State, 70 Tex. Grim. 30 713 (l!XY) 

'poppeend v. Terrell, 11 P Ti? k:* 16 S.W.2d' 

Ob3 (1929). State v. Southwester& Gas and 

Electric Co&any 145 T 24 193 3 ti 2d 675 

946); A.G. Opi&on no?+-996, Janu& 26, 

1950. 

APPROQRD: 

J. C. Davis, Jr. 

County Affairs Division 

Charles D. Mathews 

Rxeoutive Assistant 

BW:bh:mw 

Yours very truly, 

PRICE DARIRL 

Attorney General ' 

Aaslstant